Inertial measurement devices, such as gyroscopes and accelerometers, can be classified into three main categories: mechanical, optical, and MEMS devices. Mechanical and optical inertial devices provide high-precision, but their cost, size, and power requirements limit their usage in a wider range of industries such as consumer products, gaming devices, automobile, and handheld positioning systems.
MEMS gyroscopes and accelerometers have been gaining a lot of attention from industry. Micro-machining technologies have made fabrication of miniature gyroscopes possible, thus catering to a broader market. Miniaturization also enables integration with readout electronics on the same die, resulting in reduced size, cost, and power consumption as well as improved resolution by reducing noise. Consumer products such as digital cameras, 3D gaming equipment, and automotive sensors are employing MEMS devices because of their numerous advantages. The demand for low cost, more sophisticated, and user-friendly devices by the consumers has caused a steep rise in the demand of MEMS sensors, as they offer adequate reliability and performance at very low prices.
State-of-the-art MEMS devices are able to sense rotational and translational motion separately around and along one or two axes but are not capable of sensing rotational and translational motion simultaneously around all three axes. Accordingly, there is a need for MEMS device solutions that are capable of sensing rotational (i.e. angle or angular velocity of rotation around an axis) and translational motion (i.e. linear acceleration along an axis) around and along three axes.